Soft Launch of Rethought

We've spent 2014 "rethinking" how we use the Web at CSUMB, which doesn't end with this effort. Nevertheless, we've sarcastically called the server "rethought." It's where we've built up a new server architecture and migrated content.

Rethought is where we've been implementing our new design since last summer and working with departments to migrate their content from Charlotte last fall. But this is the first time we've let the rest of the campus see what it would look like at their desk or more importantly on their phones.

Why A Soft Launch?

Too many times a big technology company makes a change for no apparent reason to its customer base (e.g. Facebook). The reality is that base is an important part of the usability of the site, and we think you should be able to contribute before there's a big change.

So for the next month prior to launching on Monday, February 9, we're opening things up for feedback, because that's the basis for usability testing. A lot of it will be qualitative, just as it has been throughout 2014 when we tested a lot of navigation concepts and design layouts. But keep in mind we're not done migrating some of the bigger sites, so come content may not be there yet.

We want you to play with it until it breaks, especially on mobile. Every page is designed to appear "correctly" in a smartphone or tablet, from the content up to the overall design. It's a huge benefit to be able to say the site is already "mobile friendly," thus preventing us from having to create a second site or skimp on design somewhere else.

What Can I Do To Help?

Visit us in a Technology Open Lab or when we pop up in places like the Dining Commons or the Student Center. We'll ask you a few simple things to do on the site and take that feedback back to the office where we can prioritize any changes with respect to the launch on 2/9.

And we'll be writing about Dashboard (formerly MyCSUMB Dashboard), Groups and Directory (formerly A to Z Directory) in upcoming blog posts.

Comments

Does this mean if you are a student applying for Fall 2015, you cannot access the website until February 9th? I tried to log in per an email I was sent from CSUMB, but got a pop up saying, access denied at this time.

You should still be able to access your application in my.csumb.edu through 2/8. Then on 2/9 we'll redirect everyone over to csumb.edu where you will find your Dashboard and your application. We probably didn't have your account on rethought.csumb.edu but I have added it. Try again and let us know what you think!

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Changing the header font to a wider sans serif typeface improves legibility because header characters are no longer compressed, which makes characters difficult to read. We also adjusted the font size of all headers to improve readability, which refers to how easy it is to read words, phrases, blocks of copy such as a book. With…

On Monday, May 22, 2017, Web Services will improve its editor used to create content in csumb.edu.

This will be the first significant improvement to the editor since we launched the last redesign in February 2015.

In addition, we will provide some significant updates to how we create and display key elements, including:Improving how events get made, shared across campus, and displayed on the page.Enabling the ability to "clip" content from one CSUMB site and used on another.Improving how news is displayed on a page.Introducing several new content blocks that will provide more functionality.
Test the new editor
You can test the new editor on a separate site with duplicated content. Our internal user experience team is testing as well and we encourage you to play with it until it breaks. Then tell us about it at webservices@csumb.edu

We will also hold presentations at upcoming Technology Open Labs starting May 5 and running through May 19. Each lab will hold a presentation at …

Coming on Monday, May 22, when we go live with the new editor , you will see a new editing block called “clipping.”

You will be able to clip individual blocks on a page and insert them into your own page. This allows you to publish content that belongs to someone else, and when they update it, the content updates on your page as well.

Screenshots
To start clipping start by adding the clipping block to the page where you want the content of another page.

After adding the clipping block, begin clipping by clicking the begin clipping button.

After clicking "Begin clipping" you will now be in clipping mode. You can navigate to the page with the content you want to clip by using the site's navigation or if you already know the URL you can enter the full URL.

When you are on the page you clip by clicking the "clip part of this page" button to be able to select the blocks you want to clip from the page.